The Red Scarf of Revenge
by Cup-Noodles
Summary: After seeing her mother die, being neglected by her father, and constantly abandoned by people who tell her they care for her, Mikasa severs all emotional connections with those around her. She constantly puts up barriers to shield herself but her journey on the path of revenge will cause her to tear down some walls she never intended anyone to pass through.
1. Prologue

A/N: This is a modern AU set in California. This is my first fanfic. Hope you enjoy. :) Please comment and review

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At an early age I learned that attitude and first impressions were the keys to anything. The more one misbehaves the more rules and restrictions will be placed to prevent such behavior but if everyone assumes that one does not misbehave, the less people will suspect. People assume and judge. I learned to use this to my advantage.

I boarded the plane and closed the window so that I wouldn't see the airport's glass windows. Behind them was my father and I knew he was walking away. He always walked away. He never waited long enough to see me off. A flight attendant walked up to my row, "Please open the window. You can close it again after takeoff." she said. I opened the window and closed my eyes. I couldn't help it. I looked out the window hoping that maybe this time he stayed to see me off. I was wrong. I was always wrong. Why did I hope? Why did I keep thinking that maybe, just maybe, he would change. He was never going to be the father I wanted but when I wasn't around him I created this ideal father in my head. But every time I went home the ideal father would be quickly replaced by reality. I watched as he walked away. I rested my head against the window and closed my eyes hoping that the tears would stay inside.

I woke up to the sound of the pilot's voice, "We have just landed at LAX. The local time is 9:32 P.M.. The weather is a bit chilly at 50 degrees…" I ignored the voice and looked around me. I closed my eyes and waited for everyone else to get off. I hated waiting in in the aisle, getting pushed and shoved by eager passengers waiting to deplane. By the time I stood up there was only one family left on the plane.

I went through immigration, customs, then to the luggage claim. By the time I was out Dr. Jaeger was waiting for me. I was just a little girl when I last saw him. I had changed so much in appearance and character of the years. He wouldn't recognize me. First impressions. I had to appear happy and excited. During my stay I had to show him that I was capable, dependable, and responsible. I flashed a smile across my face and waved my hand. "Dr. Jaeger?" I called. He turned around recognizing the red scarf I said I would wear at the airport. "Mikasa?" he asked, "Why, you've grown so tall! I can barely recognize you. Let me help you with that." he said reaching for my bag. I only had one carry on bag and a small backpack. We walked to the car, making small talk along the way.

He asked me about my flight, how I was doing, how my father was, and whether or not I was excited. My flight was peaceful, I was alright, my father was alright (I didn't really know. Healthwise, he was alright. Whether he was okay emotionally, I didn't really know.), I told him I was excited.

We came to a light blue minivan. Kalura, Dr. Jaeger's wife was patiently awaiting our return. She hugged me tightly. "The boys wanted to welcome you when you arrived but I'm afraid they've fallen asleep." I looked at my cousin's calm and peaceful face. His dark brown hair gently scattered across his face. Eren was six year younger than me. He had a lot to learn about this world. Beside him was his best friend, Armin. I had heard of Armin. Eren had written me a long serious letter a couple of years back. He said that his best friend's birthday was coming up and that his friend was a stamp collector. Eren knew that I collected stamps. He asked me for a part of my collection. At that time, I had stopped collecting stamps. My mother and I collected stamps together. After she died I stopped. I still had my album of stamps somewhere. I mailed him the whole album. A few weeks later I received a thank you letter from a very happy Armin.

By the time we got to the Jaeger's house, it was almost midnight. Armin slept in Eren's room and I had the guest room all to myself. I said, "Good night." to Mr. and Mrs. Jaeger, washed up, changed my clothes, and got ready for bed. I had jet lag. My body thought it was still morning so I unpacked the little I had with me. I would be staying with the Jaegers for quite a while. I still had a month before the start of school. I was going to be with them for a whole school year. The Jeager's home was in a convenient location. It was walking distance from the new school I was going to in the fall.

My father, neglectful as he was, had a way of bending to my requests. He never second guessed my intentions for wanting to go to the U.S. I told him there was a good creative arts school in California. I told him I wanted to go. He said yes. I looked at his face, surprised at how quickly he agreed, then I realized that he was relieved. He didn't want me. He wanted me out of his hair and I had just given him a way out. He bought me a ticket to the U.S. I left two weeks later. Dr. Jaeger was my uncle on my mother's side so my father arranged for me to stay with the Jaegers.

Everything in my room was in order. All my things were put away. Finding nothing more to do, I opened my notebook. I had no interest in the arts. I did not want to go to a school for the arts. I wanted to go to California to finish something that started with my mother's death. I went to the closet and took the newspaper clippings, maps, notes, and pictures, out of the notebook and pined each one of them to the back of the closet. I put my mother's red scarf neatly inside the closet. I went back to bed but I didn't fall asleep quickly. The world is a cruel place. I am going to fight to live in it.

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A/N: Please tell me what you think. I will be without wifi for a week so please be patient. I will try to update this next week.

Till then,

Cup-Noodles


	2. Chapter 1

By the second day my jet lag was gone and I had adequately adjusted to the local time. I often helped Mrs. Jaeger with the chores. One day she asked me to to go to the grocery store to buy a few things for dinner.

"Do the boys want to come?" I asked,

"I don't know. They're nowhere to be found. If you do find them, could you tell Eren to come home? I need some help with the laundry."

"Sure thing. Is there anything else you want me to do while I'm running errands?"

"No, that's all. Thank you, Mikasa. You've been a great help." The sky was grey outside. It looked as if it would start raining any minute. I took a white umbrella with me and walked down to the grocery store that was only a few blocks away.

I didn't see the boys anywhere. I stood in line at the checkout stand when I saw that Petra was the cashier. I had met her the day before and she had offered to show me around town.

"Hey, Petra. How are you?"

"I'm doing well."

"Did you see Eren or Armin by any chance?"

"I saw them about half an hour ago. They were heading to the Old Bridge."

"Thanks," I said, handing her a twenty dollar bill for the groceries. By the time I got outside it was already raining. I took out my white umbrella and headed toward the Old Bridge.

I saw Eren in the distance. He and Armin were playing in the rain. "You know your mom is going to scold you, right?"

"Miksas. How did you find us?" asked Eren

"I have my ways. Now let's go home before you get a cold. You too Armin." The boys obediently followed. That's when I saw him, Reiner Braun. He was a high ranking member of a gang who called themselves the Titans. The Titans were the same gang responsible for my mother's death. Reiner was the first on my list. I had hoped to cross his path much later but it seemed like fate had another plan in mind.

"A pretty girl like you shouldn't be walking around without protection. It is a scary place after all." I looked at him. He was taller than me and he had a strong built. Then I saw Bertolt Hoover standing just a few feet away.

"I'm fine, thanks. I have two gentlemen at my disposal should I need protection." I said gesturing to Eren and Armin. The two boys straightened their backs and puffed up their chests. I couldn't help but smile a little. Both of them were young, scrawny, and not particularly tall for their age. "Thank you for your concern," I continued, "but as you can see, I have all the protection I need." I gently pushed Eren and Armin in front of me to prompt them to start walking forward.

Reiner suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders and slammed be against the railing of the bridge. "It is a scary place." I mumbled under my breath. Armin ran off and no one made an effort to stop him. Eren lunged forward, trying to tackle Reiner. Reiner just flicked him off like a bothersome fly. Eren fell on the ground and was getting up for a second attack when Bertolt kicked him in the stomach.

"Stop it!" I cried out, "Eren! Go home right now!"

"Mikasa, I-"

"I said, go home. I can take care of myself."

"I'll protect you, I promise-"

"You can't take care of me. You can't even take care of yourself." I didn't want to hurt his feelings but his stubbornness could get him killed. "Go home, Eren. The world's a cruel place and you have to learn to survive. Sometimes that means living to fight for another day. Now go home." Eren didn't listen. He made a third attempt at a rescue. This time Bertolt gave him a pretty hard blow on the head that left Eren unconscious. They had crossed the line the moment they placed a hand on Eren. I tried to stop myself from showing emotion.

"Now that that's done," Reiner began, "you and I can get to know each other better." I leaned in and placed my mouth a few inches from his ear, "I' don't think so." I delivered a knee to the groin and a web head to the throat before he could even real back in pain from my first attack. Reiner gasped for breath that would refuse to enter his lungs.

Bertolt looked at me, shocked, then he suddenly realized that I could also talk him down. He pulled out a knife and got into a low stance. I too got into my stance, moving my right leg back and balanced 30% of my weight on my left leg and 60% on my right. I drew my arms in close to my body.

Bertolt lunged forward, knife in hand. I parried the knife out of the way and kicked him on the side of the knee. He collapsed, his knee unable to hold the weight of his own body. He held on to his knee, crying in pain. The knife had fallen on the ground. I took it and threw it into some nearby bushes. "If you ever come close to the boy, I will hunt you down. If you see him walking on the same side of the road you're on, I want you to cross the street and change directions. Do I make myself clear?" He nodded. Reiner had sufficiently recovered. He was still coughing but he had not sustained any permanent damage.

The white umbrella was on the ground. It was stained with mud and blood. I looked at my arm and noticed that a steady stream of blood was flowing from a deep cut on my upper arm. I took Eren in my arms and walked off in the direction of the house.

There were two blond men with a green ponchos running in my direction. Armin was close behind them. I noticed a badge hung around each of their necks. One man had short cropped hair, his name was Hannes, and the other had longer blond hair that was neatly parted to the left. Hannes took Eren from my arms and laid him on the ground. He check his vitals. The other man came and talked to me, "Hello, my name is Commander Erwin Smith of the LAPD." I already knew his name. I had looked up the names of the local police before I even left home.

I didn't respond to his words. He started to say something else but his words were slurred. Everything became dark and my body was unable to hold myself up. I collapsed into his arms. That was the last thing I remembered of that day.


	3. Chapter 2

I look around me. Everything in the room was dark. The front door opened and a woman and a girl came in. The woman was wearing a red scarf. I knew who she was. "Mom watch out!" I shouted, "He's waiting for you. He's already inside the house!" She didn't hear me. It was like there was a glass barrier between me and her. She placed the bag of groceries she was carrying on the table. She hugged the little girl. "Mikasa, I love you." she said.

"Mom! You have to get out! Please just run! Please, mom.." I sank to the ground. I had seen all of this before. She just looked at the younger me, the helpless me.

"Hello, Claire" said a tall man. (A/N: I don't think the mom's name was mentioned anywhere so I am just naming her Claire.) I couldn't see his face but it was clear that my mother recognized him. I could see the fear in her eyes.

"What are you doing here?!"

"You shouldn't have done _that_."

"Please, just leave us alone. I won't say anything." she pulled the helpless child behind her.

"It's a little too late for that." he pulled out a knife. My mother jumped back and grabbed a pair of scissors that was on the table. He lunged back but she caught him in the arm. "Run Mikasa! Run!" The man dropped the knife. "Mom.." she began to say. "Pick up the knife and fight!" I called to my younger self. I could see her eyeing the knife. "I told you to run!" said my mother. I watched myself run away into the cold air outside. "Stay and fight you brat!" I called after her. I felt myself being pulled away. I was being pulled out of my dream and back into reality.

I slowly opened my eyes. Dr. Jaeger was softly shaking me awake. "You had a bad dream." he explained.

"Thank you." I could feel something warm on my face. I touched it then I realized that I had been crying. "Is Eren going to be okay?"

"He's still asleep but he'll be fine."

There was a man standing in the corner of the room. It was Commander Erwin Smith. "Hello, Mikasa." he began, "Do you remember me?" I nodded. "What was your dream about?" he asked in a gentle voice.

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_Mikasa Jaeger _read the name on the file. She had gone through a lot of pain and yet she still persevered. She was a straight A student with aptitude for technology. There were plenty of good technology schools. So why did she go all the way to California to study creative arts? Erwin knew she was hiding something. There was just something so wrong about her. He didn't know if her secret had anything to do with the attack but he knew she was hiding something.

He continued to read her file. She had a psychiatrist, Zoe Hange. Erwin looked at the name again. Hange? His Hange? It had been a long time since he last saw her. The file said that Hange had been with Mikasa since Mikasa's mother died. Mikasa was the first person on the scene of the crime. There was something about Mikasa that intrigued Erwin but he didn't know what. It was as if she needed protecting but something told him she was quite capable. She reminded him of his oldest daughter. Maybe Mikasa was his second chance. This time he would put the Titans, the gang of criminals that had taken so much away from him, behind bars.

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"Doctor Jaeger?" Dr. Jaeger could here Erwin's familiar voice over the phone.

"Hello, Erwin."

"How is Eren and Mikasa?"

"They are both doing much better but Mikasa says she still can't remember anything. It's not that uncommon for a person to lose a part of their memory after a traumatic experience."

"I see…How long will she be staying with you?"

"She'll be staying until next June. She's going to Kalahan Academy this coming school year."

"School doesn't start for another month. I was wondering if she might be interested in working for me. My secretary in on vacation and things here are getting a little overwhelming."

"I'll ask her."

"Thank you. Goodbye."

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"Erwin Smith wants me to work for him?" Why would he want to work for me? If I did, I would be able to keep an eye on him and his investigation. But that would also mean he could keep an eye on me. Was that it? He wanted to keep an eye on me? But if that were so, why would he give me access to his files? "I'll do it. When do I start?"


End file.
